This invention relates to an image processing apparatus and image processing method which perform a trimming process or masking process with respect to an input image (original image), for example, and an image forming apparatus which forms an image subjected to the trimming process or masking process on an image forming medium.
In a conventional image processing apparatus, when the trimming process or masking process is performed, a region specified by the user is set as a region to be processed and the trimming process or masking process is performed with respect to the thus set region. In the conventional image processing apparatus, the entire portion of the image of the region subjected to the trimming process or masking process is replaced by fixed image data.
That is, in the trimming process or masking process in a conventional image processing apparatus, image data of the region to be processed is converted into white data (blank data) or fixed data, for example. Therefore, in the conventional image processing apparatus, there occurs a problem that the color of the region subjected to the trimming process or masking process becomes an unnatural color which is different from the background color.